A: Its still early for me comment on my creative process. I’ve been writing professionally for not more than four years now. I’m still learning and discovering how to make my writing process more efficient.

When it comes to characters, I focus on desires. What a character wants and how it changes with the course of the story. Before writing, I have a loose reference of the character in mind based on the people I’ve met or heard. I try to give all the characters their own individual journeys, however small their parts are in the story may be. Once you see a character make a choice or react against a conflict, you immediately figure new aspects of their being. And of course, the actors bring in a lot of their own while they are playing those characters. I love talking to actors and noticing their voices and speech patterns. That helps me a lot in writing dialogue which suits that particular character.

A: I’m not really qualified to speak for all the engineering colleges in the country. My suggestions are merely based on my academic life and the few interactions I’ve had with students of other engineering colleges.

1. To begin with, I think there should be fewer of them. There is no point of having a degree in engineering, when there aren’t enough job requirements in the market.

2. Inter-department switch should be easier and perhaps the curriculum needs to have the flexibility for one to change his/her department even in the 2nd year.

3. Electives from other departments should be encouraged, at least till the pre-final year. Perhaps half or two thirds of the credits should be from one’s own department and the rest can be chosen by students depending on the subject/course of their choice.

4. A lot of engineering colleges look down upon extra-curricular activities and students are generally discouraged to have any life apart from academics. This should definitely change across the country. And students should be persuaded towards sports and cultural activities.

5. Entrepreneurship opportunities should exist within colleges to incubate and nurture early startups.

A: I would first want to know why one would want to break a viral video on YouTube. I have different pieces of advice for different reasons.

1. I want to make a career in creating content and a viral video would really help: Don’t aim to make a viral video, try and make a good video every time. About something you like, something that bothers you or something you just want to create. Start making stuff first, you’ll learn what works for the audience and what you are good/bad at. The viral video will come to you, if you keep at it.

2. I work for a startup/big brand and want to promote it by creating a viral video: If you don’t have a lot of money, try and create a messaging which integrates your brand essence while telling a great story. Get in touch with creative people, not just creative agencies. A bunch of college students with a lot of enthusiasm might actually do a much better job than several agencies put together. And if you have a lot of money, contact TVF.

3. I have no interest in pursuing this as a career, just want to make a video which gets millions of views: Get a dog or have a baby. Shoot it (with a camera). Upload.

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